Jump to content

Postcards from Siauliai AB - Lithuanian Air Force 100th Anniversary Show


Tiger331

Recommended Posts

This weekend I made the 1000km round trip to attend the Lithuanian Air Force 100th Anniversary Air Show, which took place at Siauliai (pronounced Showe-Lay) Air Base in the Northern part of the country. The original weather forecast for the day was not optimal but the threatening thunderstorms stayed away and we were treated to a great day with some excellent aerial displays and some unique exhibits. I found some of the photography a challenge (and I am out woefully of practice) so some of the results did not go as well as I had hoped. Still, I hope you enjoy the images I include here which should give a flavour of the event.

 

fullsizeoutput_13bd

 

fullsizeoutput_1396

 

The ANBO II was a Lithuanian built monoplane from 1927 designed to train army aviation pilots. Only one was ever built and it crashed in 1934. Three years ago a team of local enthusiasts build a flying replica from the original plans. The only change was the powerplant. The original Walther engine could not be sourced so a Russian design with similar parameters was used. One of the owners/restorers provided a great little display to provide context to the historical nature of the Event.

 

fullsizeoutput_139a

 

The ANBO II does not appear to have a braking mechanism so start up is a challenge !.

 

fullsizeoutput_13b7

 

This splendid chap (one of the owners/restorers, I believe) poses in period 1920-30s style Lithuanian Air Force Service Dress.

 

The show actually opened with a flypast of four of the five types used by the current day Lithuanian Air Force, including the AS.365, Mil-17, LET 410 Turbolet and C-27J Spartan

 

fullsizeoutput_1397

 

fullsizeoutput_139b

 

fullsizeoutput_139c

 

Before the AS.365 returned to give a spirited SAR demonstration

 

fullsizeoutput_139e

 

International participation started with the excellent Finnish Hawk solo demonstration

 

fullsizeoutput_13a0

 

Followed by a Czech Mil-24 Hind

 

fullsizeoutput_139f

 

fullsizeoutput_13a2

 

fullsizeoutput_13a1

 

The Glamour of the Aerobatic Formation Teams was provided by the Italian Frecce which gave a rousing demonstration against the backdrop of Pavarotti and the Italian National Anthem....one of my personal favourites. Unfortunately 'Pony 10' had to retire early in the display with a technical problem so the team had to adjust the show for nine aircraft. These photos clearly demonstrate the ever changing lighting conditions.

 

fullsizeoutput_13a3

 

fullsizeoutput_13a4

 

Another popular demonstration from the Royal Danish Air Force F-16....having flown at the Amari AB Show during the Estonian Air Force 100th Anniversary show two weeks earlier.

 

fullsizeoutput_13a8

 

fullsizeoutput_13a5

 

Another Mil-24 Hind....this time from Poland. I have never seen a Polish one before so it was a highlight for me.

 

fullsizeoutput_13a9

 

 

fullsizeoutput_13aa

 

fullsizeoutput_13ab

 

The Czech Air Force brought a pair of Aero L59s which provided a nice duo display

 

fullsizeoutput_13ac

 

The ever popular Belgian Air Force F-16 'Dark Falcon' display lived up to expectations.

 

More to follow shortly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK......had a bit of a glitch with the first lot and thought I had lost 2 hours of work !..........so here is the second batch

 

Starting off with the rest of the Belgian F-16 (I hope)

 

fullsizeoutput_13bc

 

fullsizeoutput_13ad

 

fullsizeoutput_13ae

 

Really nice touch from 'Vader' on his return......he made several stops along the taxiway and 'popped the hood' to wave to the spectators.....Another great display. All of the fast jets did at least 20 minutes each (if not more) and I lost count of the number of flares used....The only exception was the Ukrainian Su-27...speaking of which.

 

fullsizeoutput_13af

 

One of the highlights of the show........both in the static display and towards the end of the Air Display sequence

 

fullsizeoutput_13b0

 

The honour of closing out the Air Display part of the show was given to the 'resident' unit - The Spanish Air Force are currently providing NATO's Baltic Air Policing detachment at Siauliai AB and their pilot provided a superb demonstration of the F/A-18s capabilities in a display that went on for 22+ minutes and used at least 30 flares.

 

fullsizeoutput_13b2

 

 

Now some from the static park

 

fullsizeoutput_1395

 

IMG_7949

 

fullsizeoutput_13c0

 

fullsizeoutput_13bf

 

 

IMG_9069

 

Ukrainian support aircraft - An-26

 

fullsizeoutput_13b5

 

fullsizeoutput_13b4

 

fullsizeoutput_13ba

 

 

 

fullsizeoutput_13b3

 

fullsizeoutput_13bb

 

fullsizeoutput_1399

 

fullsizeoutput_13b6

 

A visit from the neighbours..........Latvian Air Force

 

fullsizeoutput_1357

 

Antonov An-2 Colt.....and Mil Mi-17 1V Hip

 

IMG_9093

 

fullsizeoutput_13be

 

 

 

I may add some more once I have caught up on my sleep !

 

Hope you like them

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 15
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Latinbear said:

Thanks for sharing these. Nice to see some different types too. The ANBO II is a cracker! Was the show busy in terms of attendance? 

 

Glad you liked them.......I'm not good with estimating attendance numbers but it was pretty busy. It is the height of the holiday season here in the Baltics and the weather was generally very good. Two weeks ago, it was estimated that some 30,000 people attended the Estonian 100th Anniversary event and this one in Lithuania was much busier (and larger).  Interesting thing with both shows was the total lack of traffic jams either before or after the event. As former Soviet Air Bases, access to the sites is not easy so people either walked (what ?....walked !) or took one of the shuttle buses. At Siauliai they had specified four car parking areas within the city limits (all free) and then people either used Shanks' pony or took the free shuttle buses. I had arrived early so was able to get to the car park nearest the entrance to the show. The event officially ended at around 4.30 with the public asked to clear the site by 5.15. I hung around a bit longer to take some last shots without a crowd and to avoid any traffic queues. I left the car park at exactly 6.00pm and there were no jams on any of the access roads out of the base area or the city. There were still a lot of people walking 3-4km or more to collect their cars at this time. It was the same at Amari AB here in Estonia two weeks ago. I cannot see it catching on in the UK though........far too many people now overly reliant on their car.      

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

Superb!! I love the Antonovs!!!! :)

 

Martin

IMG_7763

 

fullsizeoutput_134b

 

fullsizeoutput_b67

 

Since you like Antonovs.........a couple more the An-2 Colts shot at Amari AB in recent months.

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/28/2019 at 12:28 PM, Tiger331 said:

 

Glad you liked them.......I'm not good with estimating attendance numbers but it was pretty busy. It is the height of the holiday season here in the Baltics and the weather was generally very good. Two weeks ago, it was estimated that some 30,000 people attended the Estonian 100th Anniversary event and this one in Lithuania was much busier (and larger).  Interesting thing with both shows was the total lack of traffic jams either before or after the event. As former Soviet Air Bases, access to the sites is not easy so people either walked (what ?....walked !) or took one of the shuttle buses. At Siauliai they had specified four car parking areas within the city limits (all free) and then people either used Shanks' pony or took the free shuttle buses. I had arrived early so was able to get to the car park nearest the entrance to the show. The event officially ended at around 4.30 with the public asked to clear the site by 5.15. I hung around a bit longer to take some last shots without a crowd and to avoid any traffic queues. I left the car park at exactly 6.00pm and there were no jams on any of the access roads out of the base area or the city. There were still a lot of people walking 3-4km or more to collect their cars at this time. It was the same at Amari AB here in Estonia two weeks ago. I cannot see it catching on in the UK though........far too many people now overly reliant on their car.      

Thanks for the extra information. I find it interesting to see what sort of demand there is for shows outside this country and to have that number of people leave and for there to be no traffic jams is a testament to the quality of the traffic organisation. I have to confess that lugging a camera bag, food and water for a couple of miles before reaching the airfield holds rather less attraction particularly on a hot day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...